Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators cruised to a 40-14 win over the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, but it was not by the arm of quarterback Luke Del Rio.

It was the first time Del Rio had played in four weeks, returning from a knee injury he suffered against North Texas on Sept. 17. And despite being armed with a protective brace and a rested arm, the quarterback clearly struggled with shaking off the rust. 

"Yeah ... yeah ... yeah ... yeah," UF coach Jim McElwain said. "That wasn't good."

It was by far the most Del Rio has struggled this season. A stellar defense – epitomized by interceptions returned for scores by both Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson – masked the stalled drives and other offensive woes in the first half. 

In their first five drives, the Gators reached Missouri territory each time. They came away with just six points to show for the effort. Miscues derailed the other three trips down the field, including a missed field goal and an interception from Del Rio targeting and underthrowing slot receiver Brandon Powell down the sideline. 

His second interception came at the end of the first half trying to push the possession toward the edge of field-goal range. It was his third – on the opening drive of the second half -- that led to Missouri's first score of the evening. Del Rio had eyeballed his receiver from the snap to his release, and it didn't end well. 

Three interceptions in a span of seven passes.

He finished 18 of 38 for 236 yards and a touchdown to go with those three picks.
 
"It's not fun to throw picks," Del Rio said. "It's not fun to make bad reads and bad throws. It was not seeing guys, it was forcing it, it was just trying to make something happen when there's no need. You've got to take care of the ball. Three picks, that's awful. You can't do that. You'll lose a lot of those games. Luckily, we have a great defense and the other 10 guys played really well on offense."

He was quick to take blame for the offense's lull, and he was more than critical of his own performance. But Del Rio also pointed toward his positive mindset going forward. 

"But that stuff is correctable and I'm going to work to correct it," he said.

Although the final stat-line shows three interceptions, there were a few more instances in which a Missouri defender had a shot at adding to that category. There were two other underthrown fade passes following his third interception that were also stolen by the Tigers. 

That's not to say his performance was all doom and gloom. "Hot and cold" is a far more apt description.

In one instance in the third quarter, Del Rio delivered a nice sideline pass to Powell for nine yards, standing tall in the pocket before getting hammered from his blindside. On the very next play, he targeted tight end DeAndre Goolsby over the middle with a pass that was very nearly picked off. 

After delivering a pass to running back Lamical Perine in space, his next throw sailed into double coverage and was dropped by one of two Missouri defenders covering Tyrie Cleveland.

"I'm extremely competitive, so it's always been a challenge for me to move on from a bad play – because I want to make every play," Del Rio said. "But it's just something you have to do. It's something that the coaches teach us."

The weeks are only going to get tougher, starting with a trip to Jacksonville to face Georgia in two weeks. The team's success will rely greatly on its quarterback's ability to return to the form he displayed early in the season.



Sophomore running back Jordan Scarlett believes the issue to be more mental than anything else. 

"I feel like he just had to get back into his groove a little bit. I tell him before every snap, 'I've got you. Take your time, I've got you,' " Scarlett said. "I try my hardest, making sure I pick up every protection I've got."

As Del Rio prepares to clean up his performance – just as the offense looks to correct its pre-snap stumbles – McElwain pointed toward the changing mindset of a young team. 

"We did some really good things and then you shoot yourself in the foot, it's hard to limp back," he said. "But part of that is that you can't let that affect the rest of it. It's about 'Hey, OK, something happens.' Come back and win the next play. The mentality of winning the next play, they just have not kind of established yet. I will say I like the parts we're getting in here.

"I think we're getting some really explosive parts. And I'm excited about the direction we're headed with it."

Against Georgia, the Gators plan for less turnovers, less mistakes, less limping back. Next-play mentality.